Bill > S1293

Introduced Session

This bill establishes a Medication Management, Outreach and Support Program in the Department of Human Services for persons with severe and persistent mental illness living in the community. The purpose of the program is to provide these individuals with accessible medication management services to enable them to live healthfully in the community. The program shall provide licensed freestanding and hospital-based public or private nonprofit provider organizations under contract with the Division of Mental Health Services in the department with the resources to: --educate, counsel and support consumers of mental health services living in the community so that early signs of problems are identified quickly and addressed; --enable physicians, nurses, mental health professionals, consumer peers, consumers and consumers' families to work together to find a medication regimen that minimizes side effects and truly encourages good health; and --achieve continuous quality improvement goals. The bill provides that a licensed freestanding or hospital-based public or private nonprofit provider organization under contract with the division may apply to the Commissioner of Human Services for a grant to operate a medication management program. The grant shall assist in the hiring and retention of clinical staff including, but not limited to, psychiatrists, advance practice nurses, social workers and mental health counselors and caseworkers as may be appropriate for the delivery of more intensive medication management, outreach, after-hours coverage, early intervention, crisis management and support services as needed by consumers of mental health services living in the community who are served by the provider organization. The bill also provides that the commissioner shall seek to secure the use of such funds or other resources from private nonprofit or for-profit sources or the federal government to effectuate the purposes of the bill, as may be available. The bill appropriates $8,000,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Human Services to effectuate the purposes of this bill.

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Joe Vitale (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee (on 02/08/2016)